Comic Book Review – The Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume One

Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume One (2009)
Reprints The Saga of the Swamp Thing #20-27
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Steve Bissette, John Totleben, Dan Day, and Rick Veitch

By 1983, the “cool kids” knew about Alan Moore and Swamp Thing introduced him to the rest of comics fandom. Before being brought to DC Comics, Moore had been working away on U.K. titles and Miracleman, the revival of a British superhero intended to be their version of Shazam. His work on the weekly science fiction anthology 2000AD got the attention of DC editor Len Wein, who hired Moore to take over the title from Wein himself. Swamp Thing had initially debuted as a one-off in the horror anthology House of Secrets #92. Later, the character would be reworked, transplanted to the modern day, and become part of a relatively formulaic ongoing series. Moore’s arrival drastically changed the book’s status.

The start of Moore’s run might be jarring as he jumps into the aftermath of Wein’s story arcs. In a story titled “Loose Ends,” Moore attempts to wrap up these subplots and position Swamp Thing for a significant revamp. Starting in the very next issue, “The Anatomy Lesson,” the writer is already wowing us with a story that is much more mature and thoughtful than a lot of what DC was publishing at the time. General Sunderland, a leftover villain from Wein’s run, has Swamp Thing’s dead body brought to his headquarters in Washington, D.C. Dr. Jason Woodrue, known to the readers as the plant-based villain The Floronic Man, is tasked with dissecting the creature. Woodrue is forced to do so with the threat of a return to prison looming over him. He discovers that Swamp Thing contains no human aspects in its biology and that he is an entirely plant-based entity, meaning he isn’t dead. 

Upon being revived, Swamp Thing learns he is not Alec Holland, the scientist who threw himself into the Louisiana swamp after an attack on his facility years ago. Part of Holland’s consciousness merged with plant life and birthed an entirely new being. He retained some of Holland’s memories, so he believed he was that man. This revelation also allows Swamp Thing to learn how to travel anywhere on the planet using the extensive plant systems that cover the globe. He can have multiple bodies representative of the diverse variety of plant life, including fruiting bodies, which he eventually shares with his lover, Abby Cable, as a replacement for sexual intercourse. Psychedelic chemicals in the fruit allow her thoughts to merge with Swamp Things, and they make love in that way.

Moore takes a horror angle on the book rather than playing it as a superhero title. Swamp Thing still exists in the same universe as Superman and Batman, but his corner is far more riddled with demons and twisted deformations of nature. The Floronic Man, typically written as not much of a threat, is far deadlier in this book, continuing to plague Swamp Thing for the entire establishing arc. The Justice League of America even shows up, but not as partners with Swamp Thing. At the end of the story, they show up to act as a clean-up crew after the walking plant has already dealt with its enemy. 

From there, Moore shows an interest in building out the occult/magic side of the DC Universe. Jason Blood, aka Etrigan the Demon, appears in the next arc. Abby gets a job at a facility caring for autistic children. One of those kids, Paul, draws pictures of a crazed white-furred ape creature and acts scared of this thing as if it is real. Of course, it does turn out to be real; a demon escaped from the pits of Hell, wreaking havoc on the land of the living. In the background, Abby’s husband, Matt Cable, is undergoing a breakdown, also influenced by infernal forces that build toward an arc in a later collection.

Alan Moore completely flipped Swamp Thing on its head in these two arcs with big plans for the greater DC Universe. We must remember this is two years before Watchmen will be published, so Moore is building towards that definitive work. While I love Watchmen, its acclaim overshadows runs like this one, which are incredible. As we get deeper into this review series, I’ll talk about some moments I found genuinely emotional and some of the most horrific sequences I’ve ever read in a comic book. It speaks to the potency of Moore’s craft that, nearly 40 years on, the stories are still just as compelling as if published today. 

Helping in a big part are the artists assembled to work on Swamp Thing. I found the work of penciller Steven Bissette and inker John Totleben particularly moving. There is a now iconic page, the final one, in fact, of issue 24, a splash page. Swamp Thing has dealt with The Floronic Man and is ready to begin a new chapter of his life. The image has him standing against a dawning sun over the swamp. Swamp Thing stands, arms extended to his sides and hands reaching up, head tilted toward the sun. He at once resembled a plant growing towards the sun’s nourishment but, as a character, is exhibiting a sense of peace and joy. He knows what he is now, and while there are many questions surrounding that, this first step does provide some clarity. His quest to become Alec Holland again is gone because he never was that person. That single image evokes a lot of emotion and is a beautiful image outside of the context of the comic.

The inclusion of Etrigan the Demon, one of Jack Kirby’s many creations during his tenure at DC Comics, is a signal from Moore that he’s not here to stay in his corner and do his own thing. Moore wanted to affect the greater DC Universe and will start bringing in more and more of the magic-based characters. This run will also introduce one of the most prominent DC magic characters of all time in the next volume, a character who has had a wild life of his own outside of Swamp Thing.